Antitrust consent decrees may be unlawful, blurring price regulation boundaries.
The article argues that using antitrust consent decrees to regulate post-merger prices may be illegal and impractical. Despite merging companies being open to price regulation, it goes beyond the scope of antitrust law and blurs the line between setting prices and enforcing antitrust laws. The researchers suggest that economic and constitutional factors advise against antitrust agencies adopting this approach.